Chapter 103 – The Gradually Awakening Self-Awareness

The next day, Mu Yuan woke up on the slightly firm bed inside the Mage Tower.

Opening the window, he took a deep breath, inhaling the refreshing fragrance from the Vitality Spring Water, welcoming a new, sunny day.

He was not currently in consciousness projection mode but had physically entered.

—After the Lord trial concluded, Lord players could freely switch between ‘consciousness mode’ and ‘medium mode,’ or use the Lord Altar to ‘transport’ themselves into the Eternal World.

The cross-border fee was very low, but it only allowed transporting oneself and couldn’t transport other players.

After some consideration:

If he stayed in the Real World, his projection body in the Eternal World would still be a fatal weakness. But if he physically entered, wouldn’t the number of fatal vulnerabilities be reduced from two to one?

Recalling the wanted cultist he encountered last time, it seemed… staying in his own little nest in the Eternal World might actually be safer.

Anyway, he wasn’t going out.

The Mage Tower was decent enough to live in.

He still kept the long-term rental for the small villa in the Real World, occasionally needing to go back to pick up deliveries, and also…

The unused computer turned on by itself and directly logged into the Taixuan Forum.

Even while in the Eternal World, he discovered that as long as he remained within his territory, he could to some extent control objects in the Real World that bore his medium imprint—be it a computer or a phone.

In simple terms, even when physically inside, he, Lord Mu, could still access the internet.

This was crucial.

He routinely browsed the forum for news and gathered intelligence.

Somewhat unexpectedly, the discussion about Tianyuan Territory taking the top spot yesterday wasn’t particularly heated among players now. People were all discussing another matter instead.

A major event!

“Will Blue Star ultimately merge into the Eternal World? The continuous appearance and expansion of Border Zones are signs of this.”

If a smooth Fusion couldn’t be achieved, it would be a great calamity.

But if a soft landing was possible, there would also be opportunities within the calamity.

It was said that the first time ordinary people set foot in the Eternal World, they would randomly Awaken to a ‘profession’—Halberdier, Warrior, possibly Militia, or even Little Skeleton. But regardless of which, it would be a key to touching the supernatural. Blue Star might be entering the ‘Era of Professionals.’

First generation: Lords. Second generation: Ranger Heroes. Third generation: Independent Professionals.

Mu Yuan scratched his head. He had just been promoted to Lord; how could the situation change so quickly?

If Blue Star wasn’t safe, the Eternal World naturally couldn’t be safe either.

Mu Yuan felt a sense of urgency, but since the forum was already open and he shouldn’t waste it, he looked up some information related to refugees to avoid potential pitfalls.

Coincidentally, with the trial just over, there were quite a few newly promoted Lords asking questions on the forum.

“Starting to recruit refugees today. Daring to ask, is there any possibility of recruiting fair-skinned, beautiful Young Misses? I don’t expect a troop type of Young Misses, but among civilians, that seems possible, right?””Some people upstairs are daydreaming. Refugees, refugees, what defines a refugee? Those with sallow complexions and tattered clothes are true refugees. In reality, most refugees we recruit resemble famine or disaster victims from ancient times—not only rough-skinned and emaciated, but largely illiterate. Typically, these are the commoners we manage to recruit. Of course, such commoners can still handle basic tasks like farming, mining, logging, or transportation. If not, we simply train them more.”

A veteran lord explained, “Occasionally, we might discover one or two skilled individuals among the refugees, such as teachers, herbalists, or carpenters. That’s about the upper limit of talent we can typically attract. Anything higher? Either you’re incredibly lucky or you possess an Advanced Guiding Beacon.”

“For instance, certified blacksmiths or alchemists are SR-tier talents, often bringing their own blueprints. If you truly manage to recruit SR or SSR-tier individuals, it’s not impossible to find fair-skinned, beautiful young ladies among them.”

“I recall three years ago, an independent lord of commoner origin discovered a top-tier talent with general potential among refugees, renowned as the ‘Invincible Giant Hammer.’ The lord who gained this fierce general has now become a regional power.”

But such fortunate cases are extremely rare.

Especially for newly appointed lords with weak foundations.

Sometimes, attracting Advanced talents is closely tied to the development level of the territory.

Mu Yuan wasn’t particularly concerned about Advanced talents—he mainly wanted a group of commoners for basic territory construction. After all, they couldn’t rely entirely on Miracle Buildings, as there were only so many that could be built.

Oh, wait—he didn’t need Advanced talents of the general type, but Lord Mu still required skilled individuals from various other professions.

Mu Yuan exited the Mage Tower and headed south.

After leaving the core area, about two hundred meters beyond the previous earthen wall, extended wooden fences stood two meters high. A wooden gate in the middle stood open, guarded by two sentries stationed there.

This marked the boundary between the core area and the South District.

Similar borders existed to the east and west.

The South District featured flat terrain, mostly barren land with only scattered trees—mostly large survivors from previous logging operations, plus a few disguised treants standing guard.

No unit was better suited for sentry duty than treants.

Not even skeletons could compare.

Additionally, there were some newly cultivated ordinary-grade farmland and a few level-one civilian houses.

He had only built a handful of civilian houses.

Not because he was stingy with Soul Sand, but because having settled refugees build their own homes could effectively enhance their sense of belonging.

That was the idea.

Mu Yuan walked along, observing as he went, until he reached the territory’s edge. There, he spaced out three ordinary-grade and one rare-grade Guiding Beacons at intervals, with the farthest placed several hundred meters beyond the southern border.

This was a minor technique.

Placing Guiding Beacons outside the territory could slightly increase the number of attracted refugees, though the drawback was the greater distance from the territory, making refugees more vulnerable to monster attacks.

To counter this, Mu Yuan deployed ample troops to patrol the surrounding area.He then turned to Lu Liu, who was clad in full-body armor but wore no face guard, his eyes gleaming with a sharp, spirited light. “I’ll leave the task of guiding and arranging the refugees to you. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can inquire directly through our mental connection.”

“Lu Liu understands. Should I fail to live up to the Lord’s trust, I will slit my own throat here.”

Ah, there’s really no need for that.

It seemed Lu Liu had become a bit overly earnest after awakening his self-awareness yesterday.

His awakening had come naturally, just a few hours after his breakthrough to the Professional Tier.

Bone Two, Bone Three, Bone Four, Seventeen, Red Robe, and Asun had also awakened their self-awareness one after another following their breakthroughs to the Professional Tier. However, the non-human-origin troops were not as fluent in human speech as Lu Liu and Seventeen.

After delegating the tasks to Lu Liu and Seventeen, Mu Yuan clasped his hands behind his back and strolled toward other areas, much like a senior official.

More than an hour later,

dozens of meters beyond the southernmost road marker of Tianyuan Territory, the white mist suddenly thickened from faint to dense, enveloping the surrounding area.

Vaguely, figures in tattered clothing could be seen groping their way out from within the white mist.

(End of Chapter)